[Patents] Re: ICANN elections -- Endorsement of a candidate -- URGENT

[PILCH Hartmut phm@a2e.de]

Bernhard Lang writes about Benhamou

>    I believe he is a brilliant candidate for Europe, and I recommand
> endorsing his participation in the final vote.

but recently on this list I read a chilling statement from Benhamou:

   Un manifestant alpague Bernard
   Benhamou, l'un des candidats fran=E7ais les mieux plac=E9s pour les
   =E9lections au directoire de l'Icann, l'organisme mondial qui supervise
   le fonctionnement d'Internet. L'=E9change est assez vif. Avec la
   temp=E9rance compass=E9e du prof de Sciences-Po, Benhamou explique : "Il
   faut aller vers une diminution de la dur=E9e de vie de la propri=E9t=E9
   intellectuelle, tout en maintenant le principe des brevets, car il
   est l=E9gitime de r=E9mun=E9rer les id=E9es." Joris Vanderhoeven, cherch=
eur au
   CNRS, r=E9pond : "En informatique, l'innovation est rapide et
   spontan=E9e.
   Les brevets sur les logiciels ne r=E9compensent pas l'innovation. Ils
   ne
   font que servir les strat=E9gies de d=E9veloppement des grandes
   soci=E9t=E9s." =BB

If this is reported correctly, Benhamou has not the faintest idea about
the problem of software patents and just carelessly enounces the kind of
prejudice that the most immature layman might have on the subject.

According people ownership on abstract ideas is something outrageous even
to patent experts, who go long ways to pretend that they are patenting
only a "technical invention".  At the same time, "reducing the
duration" is a dead-end strategy that violates TRIPS and is not even
justifyable, because for many material inventions (such as should be
patentable under classical patent law) 20 years is not too much but too
little.

What chills me even more is that Bernhard Lang introduces M. Benhamou as a
person with special competence on the issue of intellectual property. =20
Thils leads me to conclude that he must be a mischievous propagandist of
the patent lobby, since I can no longer excuse his statements by
ignorance.

-phm